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Even though I've always been a ford enthusiast and owned many, in recent times I've become a sucker for Italian rubbish. The days of having a fast expensive car are now a thing of the past now that family life is priority, plus I haven't got space for a 3rd car. This is my sensible daily driver/something to tinker with. It's a 2005 Alfa Romeo 147 1.6 twin spark packing a whopping 120bhp! These cars are so under estimated and don't get the credit they deserve. The twin spark engine is superb and loves to rev. In my ownership I've resprayed it pearl white, fitted uprated shocks and springs, drilled and grooved discs and upgraded brake fluid, new suspension arms and soon I'll be fitting a stainless steel exhaust system and pre-cat delete, braided brake hoses and a remap. Here's some pics.
These bring back memories. I used to work on Alfas years ago. Ive had these engines apart loads of times.
The timing belts used to snap and the pistons used to wack all the valves. Ive changed a few of them top arms in my time too. The back bushes used to always wear too and the handbrake hangers used to come loose.
as i'm seeing italian rubbish all around , i'd say your's a lovely one.
(it's a very common car in my hereabouts. more in the diesel versions, which i don't really like that much)
she fits perfectly in pearl white and...
Originally Posted by 3i Jim
I would love a set of 18" teledials from a gt blackline.
...this would be another great idea!
Originally Posted by Glenn_
These bring back memories. I used to work on Alfas years ago. Ive had these engines apart loads of times.
The timing belts used to snap and the pistons used to wack all the valves. Ive changed a few of them top arms in my time too. The back bushes used to always wear too and the handbrake hangers used to come loose.
awfully i confirm you all that. (as far as i know but i've never personally put my hands on that engine).
the front suspension are pretty weak. top arms and rods may require replacement each 5-15k mi, depending on the road condition and how raw you're used to drive on 'em. sorry, still donno any upgrade you could make to definitively sort this italian mess out.
(with any engine, but i've seen alfa gasolines are very sensible to this:...) cheap oil may also cause crankshaft and rod bearing failure, it's better keeping a good oil 3k mi more in the pan, than trying to save money with some "not so good" oil.
once known that, just take care of it and you'll enjoy her for sure.
as i'm seeing italian rubbish all around , i'd say your's a lovely one.
(it's a very common car in my hereabouts. more in the diesel versions, which i don't really like that much)
she fits perfectly in pearl white and...
...this would be another great idea!
awfully i confirm you all that. (as far as i know but i've never personally put my hands on that engine).
the front suspension are pretty weak. top arms and rods may require replacement each 5-15k mi, depending on the road condition and how raw you're used to drive on 'em. sorry, still donno any upgrade you could make to definitively sort this italian mess out.
(with any engine, but i've seen alfa gasolines are very sensible to this:...) cheap oil may also cause crankshaft and rod bearing failure, it's better keeping a good oil 3k mi more in the pan, than trying to save money with some "not so good" oil.
once known that, just take care of it and you'll enjoy her for sure.
good job so far, mate!
keep us posted...
Thanks mate. There's something about alfas that get under your skin. You're right about the upper suspension arms, they're made of chocolate you can get poly bushes for them. The engines are strong but like you say they're very sensitive to incorrect oil or over due changes. I use 10/60 fully synthetic and genuine oil filter change every 3-4K and is clean as a whistle.
These bring back memories. I used to work on Alfas years ago. Ive had these engines apart loads of times.
The timing belts used to snap and the pistons used to wack all the valves. Ive changed a few of them top arms in my time too. The back bushes used to always wear too and the handbrake hangers used to come loose.
You're right Glenn, when they first came out Alfa said every 60k for a timing belt but they were snapping way before that so they now say 35k.
You're right Glenn, when they first came out Alfa said every 60k for a timing belt but they were snapping way before that so they now say 35k.
I remember this happening when the garage I used to work for did 80% of its work was fleet customers and loads had these alfas with timing belts snapping well early
2i Jim we used to put stickers supplied by alfa saying to check your oil every 1k miles.
When i worked on them a lad pdi..ed a 156. He went to the petrol station which was about 2 miles away to fill it up. When he come back the bottom end was knocking.
2i Jim we used to put stickers supplied by alfa saying to check your oil every 1k miles.
When i worked on them a lad pdi..ed a 156. He went to the petrol station which was about 2 miles away to fill it up. When he come back the bottom end was knocking.
Sounds like every Alfa we have come into work lol. From a mechanics perspective their horrific machines but they are awesome fun to drive
2i Jim we used to put stickers supplied by alfa saying to check your oil every 1k miles.
When i worked on them a lad pdi..ed a 156. He went to the petrol station which was about 2 miles away to fill it up. When he come back the bottom end was knocking.
The twin sparks can use oil. Mine use to do a litre of oil every 1500 miles when I used 10/40 which is alfas recommendation but now I run 10/60 and doesn't use a drop for some reason.
Sounds like every Alfa we have come into work lol. From a mechanics perspective their horrific machines but they are awesome fun to drive
To be fair they're not that bad, My worse cars were my mondeo st tdci and focus st170, those two always needed something doing usually at expense, maybe I got unlucky with those two.
To be fair they're not that bad, My worse cars were my mondeo st tdci and focus st170, those two always needed something doing usually at expense, maybe I got unlucky with those two.
I suppose it's just my personal experience, I remember failing a 5 year old Alfa on corrosion where I used to work lol
I suppose it's just my personal experience, I remember failing a 5 year old Alfa on corrosion where I used to work lol
they can be a bit hit or miss when it comes to corrosion. I've seen a couple of 156 which were really rotten. Luckily mine is in good shape and when I had the car apart when I did the repaint I pumped it full of hot cavity wax which will help to keep the tin worm out.
they can be a bit hit or miss when it comes to corrosion. I've seen a couple of 156 which were really rotten. Luckily mine is in good shape and when I had the car apart when I did the repaint I pumped it full of hot cavity wax which will help to keep the tin worm out.
That's awesome mate, I must have seen a few Friday afternoon cars lol
The twin sparks can use oil. Mine use to do a litre of oil every 1500 miles when I used 10/40 which is alfas recommendation but now I run 10/60 and doesn't use a drop for some reason.
Alfas used to reckonmend selena engine oil. I used to think it was a bit too thin when poured out.
Thanks mate. There's something about alfas that get under your skin. You're right about the upper suspension arms, they're made of chocolate you can get poly bushes for them. The engines are strong but like you say they're very sensitive to incorrect oil or over due changes. I use 10/60 fully synthetic and genuine oil filter change every 3-4K and is clean as a whistle.
poly bushes and 10/60 is a pretty good tip... thanks for that.
i may pass this info to some alfa guy down here.
Yesterday I went in balls deep and replaced the gear stick which was badly worn with excessive play which was causing poor gear changes.
Bit of an odd set up, the handbrake and gear stick sit on a platform which bolts to the underneath of the floor. The exhaust runs underneath this platform.
Old gearstick out. It's in a bad state, the grease was dry and the nylon bushes were shot.
New stick. I added extra grease on all of the moving parts.
This is the centralisation/neutral shaft. These have a habit of drying out and wearing out the top hat bushes. When this happens the gear stick won't centralise when in neutral.
New top hat bushes fitted and heavily greased.
All fitted and working super smooth. I also fitted a short shift kit to the selector plate but forgot to get pics. Also fitted a new nylon motorsport knob.
Back in the summer I sold my Alfa Romeo and bought this BMW e28 520i for a good price. It was the perfect candidate for doing a rolling restoration. It was completely standard but showing its age mechanically. Since purchasing the BMW I've done the following, full service, new bilstein shocks and lowering springs, poly bushed the rear subframe, new rear diff mount, new exhaust system, new tyres, new front arms.
I've also given it a full machine polish and detail, however I still need to do the interior properly.
The jacking points on the sills have had the usual MOT welding done to them, which has also caused more corrosion issues on the sills, but that's easily sorted and apart from that there's very little bodywork issues.
However it is an automatic and hopefully sometime next year I'll convert it to manual. Unfortunately I'm not very good at taking photos whilst doing the work, usually in 'the zone' and forget, so there are some work in progress pics with no end result if you know what mean.
12-02-2017, 06:42 PM
My daily hack
, i'd say your's a lovely one.
you can get poly bushes for them. The engines are strong but like you say they're very sensitive to incorrect oil or over due changes. I use 10/60 fully synthetic and genuine oil filter change every 3-4K and is clean as a whistle.
